I have been working on my ol Ford for a little while now. I dont post a whole lot on here, but I figured I would toss up some updated pics for those that are interested. It's a '49 F-1 with a 289, 4 speed trans, 9" Ford rear, Ford truck wheels with bullets and rings, and a newly purchased trunk that will soon hold my battery and other roadside repair parts and tools. Enjoy.
The shop I worked at in high school had one of thsoe with an olds and hydro for a shop truck. As trucks go they are pretty nice old trucks. Yours is looking good. I imagine that it is one nice old hauler.
Mishawaka huh? I was just thru there a couple of weeks ago - stopped to see some friends in Wakarusa. Great looking truck - from one F1 driver to another!
There's a lot to love about your truck. They look good in gold and the 289 is probably the perfect power plant for one of those.
Caddy-O...I stumbled onto that on evilBay a few years back. No mounting provision, but it is a pretty hefty home cast job that came with a cast base. I figured something out to mount it...I just need to modify some things to get it mounted. For the pictures purpose, I just set it on. Once it is installed, it sits around the louvers down the side of the hood. mtflat...Yeah, good ol' Mishawaka. Its a nice lil town for the most part. Not a whole lot to do, but it keeps me busy. Nice F-1 yourself! GreenMonster48...you are one of the few that agree with me about that! Everyone I talk with assumes I used a 350. They cringe when I tell em I blew a SBC so I could put my lil 289 in. They walk away when I tell em I would rather sell my truck than put a 350 in it. Each to their own... Porknbeaner...Thats badass...I wanted to use something a lil different under the hood but settled with what I got due to cost. I had a 390 that I thought about using, but the 289 was almost done by the time I got the 390...which also would have meant a new trans, new bellhousing, and a full rebuild of the 390. Thanks for the kind words. I have been trying to keep things simple and clean. To often a small block Ford ends up looking like a mess of wires and hoses, I wanted this build to be simple all around and a huge part of that was keeping the engine clean. I also want to keep the exterior simple. No chop, no section, nothing to fancy, all the stock trim. Future mods include a Sid Drapel 3.5" drop axle, removed rear leaves, the obvious body work and paint, a push bumper, and hopefully some subtle pinstriping. One day I would like to get a set of early Ford wheels. I like em much better than what I have...but until then I can live with what I got.
Nice truck, and I'm glad you used a 289 instead of a boring ass 350. I dig that killer breather! If you've got the cast, you could probably make a few & sell 'em. I'd buy one for sure!
I got it off of eBay...but should someone want to make a cast off of mine I have no issues with that. I also talked with someone on a different board that said they were for sale in Indy this year somewhere or another...cant remember where. If I hear more about it I will be sure to let you know. Boring ass 350...HA! I pretty much put everything I like into this truck which automatically excludes a 350, or an auto trans, or radial tires. Besides, I think my lil 289 can hold its own despite what most people think. The engine was built to boogie for a stock displacement small block.
The 289 is a damn good motor. I've built a few over the years and even tho the exhaust ports are a little restricted, a weekend with a porting kit and a few beers produces good results. Incidentally, I had a a .060 over 292 Y-block in my '56 F-100 (see avatar) before I put the 429 in it. People thought I was nuts to use the Y-block but that little bugger would wind way up! I even beat a Ford Lightning with it. I don't know who was more surprised, him or me! lol
This past weekend, I got the exhaust system welded up, connected the radiator after chasing a few leaks, finished little things all around, fired it up and drove it. It needed a few adjustments, but all in all she runs great. Got it heated up to settle in any nuts and bolts, ran around to tighten things up, and drove it on its first trip since I started working on it....8 years ago! The joys of building hot rods! As of now, the hood bolts are all missing so I run it with no hood (which I actually like), but hopefully this week I will be getting some hood bolts. I still need to hook up the vaccum actuated wipers, install lap belts, and modify the center floor cutout for my shifter and bolt that back in, and install a fuel pressure regulator, but for now she drives great!
Its a pretty good feeling to drive it for the first time huh? It goes from being something in the garage to an actual moving vehicle. Bet you were grinning all the way around the block! Congratulations!
I love those F-1's and your truck is looking good. My buddy has one with the original patina and no rust. Steel wheels and a steel rack on back. I looked inside the cab and lo and behold, he added a/c. Turns out, it has a 302, C4 and a mustang II front end. My wife fell in love with that truck due to the power steering, a/c and auto......LOL.
The engine swap was fairly straightforward. My friends helped me a lot because I lack proper welding skills, but we welded in motor mounts from the top chanel of the frame, and made a bracket to go from the stock mount down to the frame mount. The trans dang near lined up (and probably could have) but we made a plate to go from the stock cross member to a stock trans mount. The drive shaft was lengthened. It already had a later model Ford 9". All in all, a typical amount of work. The brunt of the time was spent in figuring out which parts I can use, which parts I want to use, and how to afford em all. A year and a half on the engine build alone I think it was, but well worth it. OahuEli....indeed...from ear to ear! I may be taking it to a local car show this weekend just to get it out and drive it. After the fuel pressure regulator gets installed, I will have it out every sunny day till snow flies.
The Jalopy Journal
